Insulation slitting tool



Dec. 25,1945. c.v.1| uNDl-:EN :2,391,721

INSULATION SLITTING Tool.

AFiled April 8, 1944 Y 2 sheets-sheet 1 INVENTOR l LUNDEEN ATTORNEY Dec.25, 1945. C. v. LUNDEEN 1 2,391,721

INsULATIoNVsLI'TTING TooL A Filed April 8, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR.

TTORN E Y Patented Dec. 25', 1945 lINSULATION sLrr'rINo Toor.

Carl V. Lundeen, Towson, Md., assignor't'o Western Electric Company,Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York ApplicationApril 8, 1944, Seriall No. 530,164'

16 Claims.

This invention relates to insulation slitting tools and has for itsobject the provision of new and improved insulation slitting tools.

One fixture embodying the invention comprises a base, an upright securedto the base, arcutting blade, means for securing the blade to theupright, and means for holding an article against the blade.

A complete understanding of the invention may be obtained from thefollowing detailed description of a speciiic embodiment thereof, whenread in conjunction witlrthe appendeddrawings, in which Fig. 1 is a sideelevation of axture embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a cable slit by the xture shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the' fixture taken along line 3 3 ofFig. 1, and

Fig. l is a fragmentary plan view of the nxture..

Referring more specifically to the drawings, there is illustratedA adevice for slitting,l insulating. j ankets. on wires, cables. andthelike. This device comprises a horizontal base. plate I0 (Fig. 1), whichis bolted to the top of a work table III., and which hasl a verticalplateA I2 secured thereto; A vertical guide roller I4 having'aperipheral groove I5 is rotatably secured to theV platel I2. The rightend of an arm I6, asy viewed in Fig. 1, is pivotally secured to theplate I2 and an adjustable, calibrated screw II (Figs. 1 and 4')-mounted on a lug I9 formed on. the plate I2 limits the clockwisemovement of the arm I5, as Viewed in Fig. 1, by acting as. an abutmentagainst' which a plate 2!) bolted to the top of the arm I6 strikes. Atension 'sp-ring 2 I attached to the. plate I 2y and to the arm I6 urgesthe4 arm upwardly.

A pin (Fig. 3) is rotatably secured'in an aperture 26, iorrnedinthe-armI6, by a set screw 2T projecting into a grooV'e'ZS formed. in the pin25. A cutting blade. having a cutting edge formed on one end thereof,projects through a hole 3l formed in the pin-.25 andis adjustablysecured therein by a set screw 32. The blade 30- is urged in a clockwisedirection, asl shown in Fig. 1, with respect to the arm IIi'b'yV atorsion spring 34 (Fig. 2) secured to the blade 30 and toA the arm I6.This movement of the blade 30iis limited by the plateZIl.

A pair of rollers 33-33 are rotatably mounted.` at the left of theroller I4 on a bracket 28. These rollers servev to maintain theuend of acable 38y in a horizontal position when the `end. of the cable ispositioned in the groove I 5.

In the operation Vof the device described hereinabove, to slit a jacket36.(Fig. 3) of thel cable 38, the end of the cable 38 is insertedbetween the rollers 33-33 and through the upper portion of the groove I5ofthe roller I4 from the left,

as viewed in Fig, 1, thecable forcing the blade 30 to turn in a.counterclockwise direction to the position shown in dotted lines in thatfigure as it is so inserted. After the cable 38 is inserted the desireddistance, it is drawn a sho-rt distance to the left, as viewed inFig. 1. d As the cable is drawnto the left, the cable and the torsionspring 34 rotate the cutting blade 3i] in a clockwise direction untilthe blade strikes the plate 2-0', at

which time the cutting` edge 35 projects through the jacket 35 formed ona cable core 39. The operator then draws the cable 38 farther to theleft whereby a longitudinal slit such as a slit 4I (Fig. 2) is formed inthefjacket36. v

Thecable 38- isy guided by the rollers I4 and 33-33 as it is'withdrawntherefrom. The roller I4 holds the cable adjacent to and in the sameplane as the cutting blade 30 and is rotated easily as the cable isdrawn thereover. Thus the roller I4 does not retard the cable: as thelatter is withdrawn.

The rollers 33-33 maintainV the end of the cable 38 in a horizontalposition and rotate very easily as the cable is drawn therebetween.Thus,

. the cable is maintained substantially perpen- The calibrated'set screwI1 may be threaded l farther into or out of the lu-g I9 to adjust theposition of the cutting blade 30 with respect to the roller I4 to adaptthe Xture for slitting cables whose diameters are larger or smaller thanthe cable 38, or to cables having thicker or thin-- ner jackets thanthejacket 36.

What is claimed is:

1. In a fixture for slitting jackets of rubber covered cables, asupport, a-cutting blade, an arm for pivotally mounting the cuttingblade on the support, means spaced from the cutting bladefor holding anarticle against the cutting blade whereby ar portion of an article drawntherebetween is cut byl the cutting blade, and a calibrated adjustmentscrew engaging thev blade mounting meansior selectively varying thedistance between the cutting blade and the' article holding means'.

2. In a fixture for slitting jackets of rubber covered cables,A asupport, a cutting blade, an Aarm for securing the cutting bladepivotallywith respect tothe support in a pla-ne parallel with thesupport, means for limiting the pivotal movement off the arm withrespect to the support, and means spaced a predetermined distance fromthe4 limiting means for holding an article to be' cutto theusuppo'rt, acutting blade secured to thev lever, means for limiting the movement ofthe lever with respect to the support, and means spaced a predetermineddistance from the limiting means for holding an article to be cutagainst the cutting blade.

4. In a fixture for slitting jackets of rubber covered cables, asupport, a lever pivotally ,Y

mounted on the support, a cutting blade pivotally secured to the lever,an adjustable calibrated set screw for limiting the movement of thelever with respect to the support, means for limiting the movement ofthe blade with respect to the lever, and a roller mounted on saidsupport for forcing an article to be cut against the cutting blade.

5. In a fixture for slitting jackets of rubber covered cables, asupport, an elongated blade, a pin for mounting the blade pivotally onthe support, means for limiting the movement of the blade with respectto the support, and a roller positioned adjacent to the blade forguiding a cable past the blade, whereby the blade is pressed against thelimiting means and cuts the insulating jacket of the cable.

6. In a fixture for slitting jackets of rubber covered cables, asupport, a lever pivotally mounted on the support, a cutting bladesecured to the lever. an adjustable stop for limiting the movement ofthe lever with respect to the support, means for urging the leveragainst the stop, and a roller mounted on said support for forcing anarticle against the cutting blade.

7. In a fixture for slitting jackets of rubber covered cables, anupright support, a cutting blade pivotally mounted on the support, meansfor limiting the pivoting movement of the cutting blade in onedirection, means for holding a cable against the cutting blade, andmeans for urging the cutting blade toward the limiting means, wherebythe cutting blade penetrates and slits a jacket of the cable as thecable is drawn between the holding means and the blade.

8. In a fixture for slitting jackets of rubber covered cables, anupright support, a lever pivotally secured to the support, a bladesecured to the lever, a stop for limiting the movement of the lever withrespect to the support, a roller positioned in the plane of movement ofthe lever a predetermined distance from the end of the cutting bladewhen the lever abuts the stop, means for adjusting the position of thestop, and means for urging the lever toward the stop.

9. In a fixture for slitting jackets of rubber covered cables, anupright, a lever pivotally secured at one end thereof to the upright,means for limiting the pivotal movement of the lever with respect to theupright, a cutting blade, means for securing the blade to the free endof the lever for rotation about the transverse axis of the blade, meansfor limiting the rotation of the blade, and means positioned apredetermined distance from the end of the blade when the blade and thelever are in positions limited by the above mentioned limiting means forholding an article against the end of the blade.

10. In a fixture for slitting jackets of rubber covered cables, anupright, a lever pivotally secured at one end thereof to the upright formovement in a vertical plane, a lug having a tapped bore therethroughsecured to the support, a calibrated set screw threaded into the tappedbore for limiting the upward movement of the lever, a spring for urgingthe lever upwardly, a pin rotatably secured to the free end of thelever, a cutting blade secured to the pin in such a manner that the endsof the blade project beyond the which the point of the blade is directeddownwardly, a grooved roller rotatably secured to the upright in avertical plane directly below the point of the blade for holding a cableagainst the blade, and a pair of guide rollers for maintaining the cablesubstantially perpendicular to the cutting blade when the point of thecutting blade is directed downwardly.

11. In a xture for slitting jackets of rubber covered cables, a support,an elongated cutting blade, means for mounting .the cutting bladepivotally on the support about an axis transverse to the blade, a stop,means for urging the blade toward the stop, and means spaced apredetermined distance from the cutting blade for holding a jacketedcable against the cutting blade, whereby the jacket of a cable drawn inone direction between the holding means and the cutting blade is cut bythe cutting blade to a predetermined depth but is not cut when the cableis drawn therebetween in the opposite direction.

12. In a xture for slitting jackets of rubber covered cables, a support,an elongated cutting blade pivotally secured on the support for pivotalmovement about an axis perpendicular to and intersecting the.longitudinal axis of the blade and provided with a cutting edge, a stop,means for yieldably urging the cutting blade toward the stop, and aroller spaced a predetermined distance from the cutting edge, wherebythe jacket of a cable drawn in one direction between the cutting bladeand the roller is cut to a predetermined depth but is not cut when thecable is drawn .therebetween in the opposite direction.

13. In a fixture for slitting jackets of rubber covered cables, asupport, a cutting blade pivotally secured to the support, means forlimiting the movement of the cutting blade in one direction, means forurging the cutting blade in the same direction, a roller spaced from theedge of the cutting blade, and means for selectively varying thedistance between the edge of the cutting Iblade and the roller, wherebythe jacket of a cable drawn between the cutting blade and the roller iscut to a predetermined depth.

14. In a fixture for slitting jackets of rubber covered cables, anelongated cutting blade, means for mounting the cutting blade forpivotal movement about a transverse axis thereof, means for limiting inone direction the pivotal movement of the blade, and an abutmentpositioned near the blade for holding a cable against the blade.

l5. In a fixture for slitting jackets of rubber covered cables, anelongated cutting blade, means for mounting the cutting blade forrotation about an axis perpendicular to and intersecting thelongitudinal axis thereof, a stop for limiting in one direction therotation of the cutting blade, and a grooved roller mounted adjacent tothe cutting blade for guiding a cable past the cutting blade.

16. In a fixture for slitting jackets of rubber covered cables, acutting blade, means for mounting the cutting blade for rotation, meansfor limiting the rotation of the blade in one direction, and an abutmentfor holding a cable in a position in which the cutting blade can engagethe cable.

r CARL V. LUNDEEN.

